Lead Forensics

What’s the Strongest Currency Used by Planners and Hotels? Trust

August 16, 2017 Kevin V Edmunds

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A new survey conducted by The Values Institute in conjunction with California State University Fullerton found that, of seven key industries studied, two industries clearly stood out in terms of how trustworthy their brands are among consumers: electronics and hotels.

For hotels, “the advancements they’ve made to ensure guest have no surprises from booking and check-in has boosted the level of transparency and thus hotels’ survey scores,” says Mark Weinfeld, research director for The Values Institute. Another critical element cited by respondents: Hotels taking care of guests by putting people ahead of policies.

As a hotelier, It makes me so happy and proud to see this strong validation of our industry from people who frequently use hotels and resorts—not just guests but also meeting and incentive-program planners. Because those planners are essential business partners for our Eden Roc and Nobu properties in Miami, plus our all-inclusive Hard Rock Hotels in the Dominican Republic and on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Mexico, we strive to build trust all the way through a planner’s journey with us.

For us, building trust starts when we introduce our properties and their amenities to a planner in order to find the right fit for a specific event. After that, it’s when we negotiate all the elements of a program and match each session to the right space on property. Next, it’s when our service team executes on site during the event. And lastly, it’s when we sit down with the planner for post-event billing reconciliation. We continuously train all our event sales and service teams in these areas.

What’s more, we train our people to provide not only what a planner specifically says she wants for her group, but also to provide the unique local elements we know about in each destination–elements that will enhance the effectiveness and the memorable quality of a program.

In total, we feel that doing all these things builds trust among meeting and incentive planners to recommend our properties to others, and to bring more events to us in the future. We understand that trust is definitely the strongest currency in the meetings, incentives and hospitality business.


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